Footwear



Feb. 27, 1945. E. B. WARD 2 3 0 5 FOOTWEAR Filed Feb. 1, 1943 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 27, 1945 U N IT ED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOTWEAR Eugene'B. Ward; West Sprir1gfield=',.Mass. Application: February 1, 1943, Serial No..47.4,285

(ores-'16) 4 Claims;

This invention relates: to improvements in footwear and. is: directed more particularly to an improved shoe: construction. which". is adapted to provide correct andlsutficient support. of the. foot. It is a principal object'ot the invention to pro vide a simple yet. efficient. supporting means for associating. with a shoeof more: or less conventional' construction in such a. way that the foot isproperly supported both when it is relatively flat, as in standing, and whenit is bent or flexed as in walking. As. will appear, according to the preferred form of the. inventlomgthis supporting means is. built: into the shoe as it is.- manufactured although it is to be understood that the: same can be made. separately and: later placed in the shoe as: an appliance.

As. aspeci'al' feature of the: invention, the device or means. includes: a, supporting, member so: a1"- ranged: and adapted that itm'ay supportv both: the

longitudinal arch andi the metatarsal; arch of I the foot. As will be explained this membenis capable of flexing movement relative to the rigid shank part or parts of the construction so that it assumes an arch-supporting position in all natural positions of the foot.

Broadly the device of the invention includes a relatively-stationary and rigid shank member and a spring-like member having a part rigidly connected to the shank member and so arranged that it is actuated into arch-supporting position when the sole of the shoe is flexed. It will be appreciated that the device may be associated with footwear for either men or women.

According to the preferred form of the invention, the device includes but two parts which are so connected together and so arranged that one part is moved relative to the other by the bend ing or flexing of the shoe as the wearer bends the foot. The construction in its broad aspects is adapted for use in connection with shoes of all types and sizes and it is simple in construction so as to be economical to manufacture.

With the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view with dot-dash lines to indicate the preferred position of the device with reference to a mans shoe;

Fig;- 2 is a topplan view of the: preferred. form of the devicerof the. invention; and

Fig. 3 isa. sectional view on theline 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to. the drawing more. in detail, the invention will be fully described.

A mans shoe is represented by dot-dash lines S and it has a heel. h and outer sole. 3. Thcreis arigid shank member it which extends upwardly adjacent thelongitudinal arch;- of. the foot whentheshoeisworn.

This member in is formed of substantially rigid metal so asto be relatively unbendable and it preferably has its. rear endportion extending into the heel part of the shoe, as indicated. The

forwardend of. member to preferably terminates rearwardlyof the so-called metatarsal arch region of the shoe,.asshown.

Thehuman foot has arow ofwhat are. referred to as metatarsal heads which extend transversely thereacross and form the metatarsal arch. The means of. this. invention is calculated to: support this region. as well as the longitudinal arch. of the foot.

A supporting member 20 is provided of relatively spring-like metal and it extends longitudinally of the shank member l0 and overlies same as shown. The rear end portion of said member 20 is rigidly secured to the shank by some means such as a rivet 22, welding, or other suitable means.

Where the invention is built into a shoe, the member 20 overlies the shank which is commonly found in shoes or if it takes the form of a separate appliance, the adjacently-disposed member 20 and shank l0 compose a unit which is placed in the shoe. In any event, it is usual to have a covering (not shown) of some flexibl material such as leather to overlie the shank and supporting members and this more or less serves as the inner sole of the shoe.

The plate member 20 may be variously formed but it preferably is substantially fiat transversely for the greater part of its length. Adjacent its forward end is a humped portion. and this is somewhat spoon-shaped as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 for engaging the metatarsal arch of the foot.

Preferably, too, the forward end' portion 26 of member 20 extends or projects beyond the forward, end of the shank, as. shown in Fig. 1 so as to rest on the inside of the sole of the shoe.

It is to be understood, however, that th forward end portion of-the supporting part 20 may rest on or engage the upper side of the shank.

The important thing is that at least the humped part 24 of the spring-like member be normally spaced from the upper surface of the shank so as to be movable relative thereto when the foot is flexed.

The arrangement is such that when the sole of the shoe is bent the supporting member is moved relative to the stationary shank and thus supports both the metatarsal region and the longitudinal arch in all positions of the foot. The forward end portion of the spring support is preferably more or less enlarged as shown and while th bulge 2a is perhaps shown somewhat exaggerated, it nevertheless will be such as to engage the foot to a proper degree.

The invention may be embodied in other spe cific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a device of the class described comprising in combination, a rigid shank member, and a supporting member overlying said shank'member and having its rear end portion fixedly secured to the shank member, the forward end portion of the supporting member being provided with an upraised part and being free of connection with the shank member, said supporting member projecting beyond the forward end of the shank member.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a device of the class described comprising in combination, a shank member having a rear end heel portion for positioning in the heel portion of a shoe and extending longitudinally forwardly therefrom for positioning over the longitudinal arch of a shoe, and a support member having a rear end heel portion fixed to the heel portion of the shank member and extending forwardly therefrom over said shank, said support member being relatively more yieldable than said shank member, the forward end of the support member being free-of connection with the shank member and extendin beyond the forward end of said member with the forward end portion of the support member provided with an upraised part adapted to support the metatarsal arch of the foot.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a device of the class described comprising in combination, a shank member having a rear end heel portion and a body portion extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom, and a support member having a rear end heel portion fixed to the heel portion of said shank member and a longitudinal arch portion extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom over and diverging from the body portion of the shank member, the forward end of the support member extending beyond the forward end of the shank member and having an upraised metatarsal arch portion disposed inwardly of said forward end.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a device of the class described comprising in combination,'a shank member having a rear end heel portion and a body portion extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom, and a support member having a rear end heel portion fixed to the heel portion of said shank member and a longitudinal arch portion extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom over and diverging from the body portion of the shank member, the forward end of the support member extending beyond the forward end of the shank member and having an upraised metatarsal arch portion disposed inwardly of said forward end, said support member being relatively more yieldable than said shank member.

' EUGENE B. 'WARD. 

